Pedro Muñoz Seca (1881–1936): The Comic Effect of the Grotesque

Abstract

The foregoing quotation may be interpreted as a metatheatrical reading of Pedro Munoz Seca’s theatrical production, which has filled Madrid’s theaters for over 30 years. The word casa ‘house’ could be substituted by “theater,” as he was a prolific author who made the stage his home, earning more in financial success than in the good opinion of the critics. But the quotation is also one of the myriad examples of expressive dislocations found in Munoz Seca’s plays (this one from the popular refrain “Cada uno en su casa y Dios en la de todos” ‘Each to his own and God watching over everyone’). His plays were known as astracanes by critics and the public, but were never referred to as such by the authors who cultivated this hybrid genre.¹ The hybrid nature of this genre along with the playfulness of the language used in his plays are two of the trademarks of Munoz Seca’s writing style.

“Cada uno en su casa y en la mîa todo Dios” ‘Each person in his own house, and God totally in mine’ (Munoz Seca and Perez Fernandez 1948: 254)